Recovery Options will open the Kirsten A. Vincent Respite & Recovery Center
Buffalo, NY: (Recovery Options) will open the Kirsten
A. Vincent Respite & Recovery Center at 111 Maple Street, Buffalo in the fall 2022. This is a first-of-its-kind respite and recovery model in New York State designed to support crisis stabilization and continued recovery.
Recovery Options brings together four mental health support programs to meet people where they are in their recovery. The Center will include a Short-Term Crisis Respite (Refreshing Waters), an Intensive Crisis Respite (Restful Rivers), a Renewal Center in collaboration with Western New York Independent Living (WNYIL) and a Mental Health Urgent Care, a Spectrum Health & Human Services satellite. This innovative model of recovery allows individuals a safe space of calm to regroup and recover. This environment becomes more vital than ever in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Shannon Higbee, CEO of Recovery Options shares that, “The numbers show that 66% of emergency department visits are avoidable and 88% of people presenting to hospitals for mental health concerns do not meet admission criteria. Recovery Option respite programs boast a 95% hospital diversion rate. The Recovery Options Respite & Recovery Center is more effective in supporting recovery and more cost-efficient than the traditional hospital stays, benefiting all of WNY”.
Recovery Options has developed the Respite & Recovery Center to support those in recovery and divert from continuously treating individuals via hospitalization. Individuals can enter programs and move throughout the Center should the need for more intensive support arise.
Recovery Options will repurpose at facility that was St. John’s Church Hospice and has been vacant the last three years with the move of hospice outside of the city. Pastor Chapman commented, “On behalf of the Board of Directors of WECGOD, II, 501c3 Non-Profit Corporation, we are thankful for Recovery Options Made Easy (ROME) for providing such a critical and necessary mental health facility to the constituents of the Fruit Belt and Buffalo Community.
We look forward to a lasting relationship which will improve the quality of life to the constituents of Buffalo and our “2 CHURCHES, 2 CAMPUSES and 1 VILLAGE”. He further added,” This relationship will further our Buffalo Black Billion Initiative to create
$1 Billion of construction, programming and ministry for the Buffalo Community”.
Dr. Cashaw, CEO of the FruitBelt Coalition, stated that this facility is “a recovery program to address the needs of many members within our community. Many community residents do not have access to transportation and/or means to get to such facilities and this would be a great opportunity to address those needs and allow all local residents access to the many services that await them”.
The Center was made possible by funding from Erie County Department of Mental Health and Erie County Legislature and licensed through NYS Office of Mental Health. Mark O’Brien, Erie County Commissioner of Mental Health said, “The Kirsten Vincent Respite and Recovery Center will be a welcome and highly anticipated addition to resources devoted to assisting individuals in times of crisis. An innovative collaboration of professional and peer-run services that will provide a new level of comfort and assistance to those facing mental health challenges. Named in honor of the late Dr. Kirsten Vincent, former CEO of Recovery Options Made Easy, who vision brought this collaborative to life, it will be a safe harbor for those in times of distress.” Dr. Kirsten A. Vincent, beloved CEO and mental health professional revered throughout the state of New York.
Recovery Options Made Easy is a not- for- profit supported housing and community support services agency. They are geographically the largest peer run organization in NYS, Recovery Options was developed and is operated by those who have lived through the recovery process. Programs and services benefit participants in mental health services in 10 counties in Western New York and Finger Lake regions. The organization is committed to decreasing stigma by increasing awareness of mental health and substance use through information, education, and advocacy.
For more information or to connect for comments, please call 716-532-5508 or email erierespitecenter@recoveryoptionsny.org.
